Material extraction from industrial byproducts powered by geothermal energy

Abstract

A geothermally powered red mud processing system includes a geothermal system with a wellbore extending from a surface into an underground magma reservoir. Geothermal energy from the geothermal system is used at least in part to extract materials, such as iron, titanium, scandium, and others, from red mud that is the byproduct of an aluminum production process. The aluminum production process may also be powered by geothermal energy from the geothermal system.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A red mud processing system, comprising:
 a geothermal system comprising a wellbore extending from a surface into an underground magma reservoir, the wellbore configured to heat a heat transfer fluid via heat transfer with the underground magma reservoir to form heated heat transfer fluid;   a roasting furnace comprising a vessel configured to:
 receive red mud with at least a portion of aluminum-containing components removed; and 
 heat the received red mud using the heated heat transfer fluid, thereby generating roasted red mud comprising magnetite; 
   a separator comprising:
 a vessel configured to receive the roasted red mud; and 
 a magnet powered by geothermally generated electricity, positioned within or proximate to the vessel of the separator, and configured to remove the magnetite from the roasted red mud, thereby generating iron-depleted red mud; and 
   an acid leaching tank comprising a vessel configured to:
 receive at least a portion of the iron-depleted red mud; 
 heat a leaching solution using the heated heat transfer fluid; and 
 extract one or both of titanium and scandium from the iron-depleted red mud using the heated leaching solution, thereby generating metal-depleted red mud. 
   
     
     
         2 . The red mud processing system of  claim 1 , further comprising a construction material pipeline comprising a series of vessels configured to:
 receive at least a portion of the metal-depleted red mud;   heat the received metal-depleted red mud using the heated heat transfer fluid; and   produce construction materials using the heated metal-depleted red mud.   
     
     
         3 . The red mud processing system of  claim 2 , further comprising one or more geothermally powered motors wherein the geothermally powered motors are powered by the heated heat transfer fluid, a secondary heat transfer fluid heated by the heated heat transfer fluid, or electricity generated by the heated heat transfer fluid, wherein the one or more geothermally powered motors are configured to drive a pipeline conveyor to move the metal-depleted red mud through the construction material pipeline. 
     
     
         4 . The red mud processing system of  claim 1 , further comprising one or more geothermally powered motors powered by the heated heat transfer fluid, a secondary heat transfer fluid heated by the heated heat transfer fluid, or electricity generated by the heated heat transfer fluid, wherein the one or more geothermally powered motors are configured to perform one or more of:
 rotating a mixer in the acid leaching tank;   driving a furnace conveyor to move the red mud through the roasting furnace; and   driving a magnetic separator conveyor to move the roasted red mud through the separator.   
     
     
         5 . The red mud processing system of  claim 1 , further comprising one or more heat exchangers configured to circulate the heated heat transfer fluid to perform operations of the red mud processing system, wherein the one or more heat exchangers are configured to perform one or more of:
 heating the roasting furnace; and   heating the acid leaching tank.   
     
     
         6 . The red mud processing system of  claim 1 , further comprising a furnace conveyor configured to move the red mud through the roasting furnace during roasting, wherein the roasting furnace is further configured to:
 reduce iron in the red mud, thereby producing a magnetic form of the iron; and   transfer the roasted red mud with the magnetic form of the iron to the separator.   
     
     
         7 . The red mud processing system of  claim 1 , wherein the separator is further configured to:
 receive electricity to power the magnet;   move the roasted red mud through the separator during magnetic separation using a magnetic separator conveyor;   transfer the magnetite to a magnetite storage vessel; and   transfer at least the portion of the iron-depleted red mud to the acid leaching tank.   
     
     
         8 . The red mud processing system of  claim 7 , further comprising one or more turbines configured to use the heated heat transfer to generate the electricity used to power the magnet, wherein the generated electricity provides an electric current that induces a magnetic field that can be adjusted to a predefined strength to remove the magnetite from the roasted red mud. 
     
     
         9 . The red mud processing system of  claim 1 , wherein the acid leaching tank is further configured to:
 receive an acid;   receive an organic solvent;   combine the received iron-depleted red mud with the leaching solution comprising the received acid and the received organic solvent; and   filter the leaching solution to extract the titanium and the scandium.   
     
     
         10 . The red mud processing system of  claim 2 , wherein the construction material pipeline is further configured to:
 move the received metal-depleted red mud through the construction material pipeline using a pipeline conveyor; and   transfer the heated metal-depleted red mud to a series of vessels along the pipeline to be mixed with additives in appropriate amounts to produce the construction materials.   
     
     
         11 . The red mud processing system of  claim 1 , further configured to use geothermally sourced heat and/or electricity to extract one or more of:
 iron in the form of magnetite produced from heating and reducing hematite during the roasting of the red mud;   iron in the form of minor oxide phases and hydroxide phases produced during the roasting of the red mud; and   titanium and scandium in oxide phases produced by leaching in the leaching solution.   
     
     
         12 . A method of operating a geothermally powered red mud processing system, the method comprising:
 receiving heated heat transfer fluid from a geothermal system comprising a wellbore extending from a surface into an underground magma reservoir, the wellbore configured to heat a heat transfer fluid via heat transfer with the underground magma reservoir to form the heated heat transfer fluid;   receiving a red mud with at least a portion of aluminum containing components removed;   heating the received red mud using the heated heat transfer fluid thereby generating a roasted red mud comprising magnetite;   removing the magnetite from the roasted red mud using a magnet powered by geothermally generated electricity, thereby producing an iron-depleted red mud;   heating a leaching solution using the heated heat transfer fluid; and   extracting one or both of titanium and scandium from the iron-depleted red mud using the heated leaching solution, thereby generating a metal-depleted red mud.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein receiving the heat transfer fluid comprises:
 providing the heat transfer fluid down the wellbore extending from the surface and into the underground magma reservoir;   receiving the heated heat transfer fluid from the wellbore.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein using heat from the heat transfer fluid to generate mechanical or electrical energy with turbines further comprises:
 powering geothermally powered motors with the heated heat transfer fluid, a secondary heat transfer fluid heated by the heated heat transfer fluid, or electricity generated by the heated heat transfer fluid, wherein the geothermally powered motors are configured to perform one or more of:
 rotating one or more mixers; and 
 driving one or more conveyors used to move materials. 
   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein heating the received red mud using the heated heat transfer fluid further comprises:
 moving the received red mud using a conveyor during the heating of the received red mud; and   reducing iron in the received red mud.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein removing the magnetite from the roasted red mud further comprises moving the roasted red mud during magnetic separation using a conveyor. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein removing the magnetite from the roasted red mud further comprises:
 generating the geothermally generated electricity with one or more turbines using the heated heat transfer fluid; and   providing the geothermally generated electricity to the magnet, wherein the geothermally generated electricity provides an electric current that induces a magnetic field in the magnet that can be adjusted to a predefined strength to separate the magnetite.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein extracting the titanium and the scandium from the iron-depleted red mud using the leaching solution further comprises:
 agitating the leaching solution with a motor powered by one or more of the heat transfer fluid and the geothermally generated electricity;   combining the iron-depleted red mud with the leaching solution to separate the titanium and the scandium from the iron-depleted red mud, wherein the leaching solution comprises one or more of an acid and an organic solvent; and   filtering the titanium and the scandium from the leaching solution.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 heating the metal-depleted red mud via the heated heat transfer fluid; and   producing construction materials using the heated metal-depleted red mud.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein producing the construction materials using the heated metal-depleted red mud further comprises:
 moving the heated metal-depleted red mud using a conveyor; and   transferring the heated metal-depleted red mud to a series of vessels along a pipeline, wherein the heated metal-depleted red mud is added to various mixtures to produce the construction materials.